How this helps people attain an education; find a job; get off welfare; and pay taxes – is beyond my comprehension. It is simply erecting another barrier in front of people who are doing it tough already.

Worse still, some incredibly thick people (must be ACT supporters?) are actually supportive of this mean, penny-pinching policy. People like this individual,

RossRonald

“I count it, that she’d get around $620 in the hand per week – not counting an accommodation top up benefit if she’s entitled. The story’s pretty poorly written and somehow suggests the dpb is $172… Nup. I pay a mortgage, have bought up 3 kids solo with Zero help beside working for families – and am trying to figure how to send my daughter to Uni next year…. and seeing non contributors like here sucking the system gets me riled. $6 grand student debt – please pass me the worlds smallest violin. Last thing NZ needs is another 50 year old shrink. BTW – Mr Anus? Hugh?? I think you’re assuming a lot – Cliff made perfect sense, it’s just that you don’t get to hear it said often enough, cos it’s a bit impolite to be honest about this sort of self indulgent waffle. Let her throw a few more K on the student loan, that’s what my kids have had to do. Welcome to the big sandpit”

Or this one,

Jackie10000

“Ms Merson also forgot to mention that she has shared custody and receives a good amount of child support each month! Student allowance, child support and DPB for the last two years!Time she got a real job and paid us tax payers back!”

She received a Training Incentice Allowance, to pay for her University Degree. Nothing wrong with that either.

She evidently tried part-time work whilst studying, but gave up her job because it was too hard to study and raise a child. Ok, we can understand that.

What I (and many others) find impossible to understand is why Bennett then canned the Training Incentive Allowance.

The same Training Incentive Allowance Bennett used to further her own education and get a job afterwards.

The same Training Incentive Allowance that an acquaintance of mine received, whilst she raised two sons single-handedly; one with ADHD and Aspergers; and completed a University course; and now earns a good salary paying taxes – instead of being on the DPB.

Isn’t that what we want?

Or is there a nasty, punitive, streak in our collective psyche – as expressed by the vile comments posted by RossRonald and Jackie10000 – that demands that those receiving welfare and the “undeserving poor” should be destined to rot in perpetual, unrelenting poverty? How can our once egalitarian society now be producing quasi-Scrooges with such malicious and monstrously shameful comments as RossRonald and Jackie10000 wrote?

One can only hope that those two represent only a tiny sector of our society – perhaps no more than the 23,889 who voted for ACT, in 2011.

Getting back to the issue, Ms Merson is quoted in the above story as saying,

“It seems a shame. It’s been my passion for years, and I was so close.”

Talk about pulling the rug out from under people.

All because we have a political Party in government that panders to the lowest common denominator; naked self-interest.

All because National blew $2 billion a year in unaffordable tax cuts in 2009 and 2010.

And all because, with the shortfall in tax revenue, National is having to scrimp and scrape and slash social and State services, to find the money to “balance their books”. Just like they did in the late 1990s.

The top income earners have done very well out of National’s unbridled generosity in giving money away. Key and his cronies practically hosed it from the Ninth Floor of the Beehive to the waiting One Percenters below.

Related

Why must those horrible people be ACT supporters? You’re falling into the trap of allowing ACT to be scapegoated for all the nasty policies. The real nastiness is with National. ACT is just the rump whose purpose is to make National look a little less evil.

My guess is that they were National supporters.

Just love the “with Zero help beside working for families” bit, like working for families isn’t welfare. Makes him look like a hypocrite and a twat.

Why must those horrible people be ACT supporters? You’re falling into the trap of allowing ACT to be scapegoated for all the nasty policies. The real nastiness is with National. ACT is just the rump whose purpose is to make National look a little less evil.

My guess is that they were National supporters.

Just love the “with Zero help beside working for families” bit, like working for families isn’t welfare. Makes him look like a hypocrite and a twat.

Fair point, Matthew. I’ll try to remember touse “National/ACT” from now on, as many split their votes, or may lean to ACT but vote for the mai n Party, National.

Why must those horrible people be ACT supporters? You’re falling into the trap of allowing ACT to be scapegoated for all the nasty policies. The real nastiness is with National. ACT is just the rump whose purpose is to make National look a little less evil.

My guess is that they were National supporters.

Just love the “with Zero help beside working for families” bit, like working for families isn’t welfare. Makes him look like a hypocrite and a twat.

Poor woman! (Mrs Merson). The eye-watering stupidity of the policy is equal to the policy of not allowing those 55 years and older to even get a student loan! ShonKey seems unaware that not everyone over 55 is studying for ‘hobby’ purposes!